Here's my list of the top 6 mistakes brand new poker players make at the table. If you see yourself in this, it's definitely time to change up your game.
Here's my list of the top 6 mistakes brand new poker players make at the table. If you see yourself in this, it's definitely time to change up your game.
An essential but difficult skill in poker is having the patience and discipline to withstand long stretches of sheer boredom waiting for good hole cards. Many rookie players often lack the temperament and patience needed to wait out those dry spells for premium hands to be dealt. So, out of restlessness and a low boredom threshold, they end up playing a wide range of weaker hands that they know they really shouldn't be getting involved with. Developing patience is crucial - don't lose it, find it!
Many new poker players have watched too many dramatic Hollywood movies and gotten the idea that poker is all about frequent bluffing. They somehow believe that if they just keep aggressively betting and raising, everyone else will be intimidated and back down. But this is very unlikely to work out well, because a player who bluffs habitually and excessively will quickly gain a reputation at the table and be easily identified by observant opponents after not too long.
Rookie players frequently play a much wider range of hands than recommended, not yet grasping the significance of being selective and only playing premium starting hands in ideal favorable situations. Before sitting down at the tables, it would be wise to pick up a poker strategy book or two to gain an understanding of hand selection and why holdings like 9-3 offsuit are notoriously bad hands to get involved with, whether suited or not. In today's age with so much poker content and information readily available out there, there's really no excuse for lacking fundamental strategy knowledge and playing far too many trash hands.
Your mental sharpness and decision making skills inevitably deteriorate after sitting in the same spot for excessive stretches of time at the poker table, just like any other mentally grueling activity. But instead of recognizing this decline and taking a healthy break to rest and reset, the vast majority of newbie players will stubbornly keep grinding away for countless hours trying futilely to immediately win back all their lost money in the same day or session. This often ends up only accelerating their leaks and losses. Your mind starts playing tricks on you after too many hours of extended concentration, yet you'll rationalize to yourself that you're still playing incredibly well. But chances are, you're absolutely not. Moderation and rest are essential.
It's important for new poker players to stay realistic and recognize there's still tons to learn. Having an ego and thinking you're already as good as the pros or better is delusional thinking. The day you can admit to yourself that you still know very little about optimal poker strategy is ironically the day you may actually start gradually improving by being open to learning. Cocky know-it-alls generally remain in a state of perpetual ignorance about what it really takes to substantively upgrade their poker game. It's absolutely essential to maintain humility and be objective about your current skills and areas needing improvement.
Just like a pinball machine can go haywire and tilt when banged around too hard, beginner poker players will often mentally tilt and short circuit their decision making after losing a couple tough bad beats. A player on tilt frequently loses faith in their game plan and judgment, and will start chasing risky draws or playing any two cards in an attempt at vengeance. Even when knowing better, a mad tilted player abandons discipline and reason in an attempt to immediately win their money back or retaliate. Which leads to the number one mistake...
This article is curated from stakeholdem.com.
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